The Bible chapter we're looking at is not a joke, but it does contain both good news and bad news.

The sixth chapter of Isaiah is certainly one of the more prominent chapters in the Bible; probably more sermons have been preached on this passage than any other in the Old Testament with the exception, of course, of Psalm 23. And for good reason. In this chapter there is a wonderful, lofty vision of God on His royal throne, and a prophet's willing acceptance of the commission to be His messenger. In the first 8 verses are some wonderful lessons - we'll note six:

1. The time setting is significant - "In the year that King Uzziah died." For much of his reign, he was a good king, until pride entered in and Uzziah tried to usurp the role of priest and was punished with an affliction of leprosy. Now during a time of national insecurity caused by the king's death, reassurance comes to Isaiah - though the earthly throne is now empty, the heavenly is not.

In 1929, Kit­tie L. Suf­field, the wife of a tra­vel­ing evan­gel­ist, expressed this truth simply in the words of a song, "God is still on the throne."

2. The scene described by Isaiah is one of splendor and beauty. The Creator and King of the universe is seen in His extravagant palace (a better choice of words than "temple"), surrounded by attendants who are (a.) reverent - two wings cover their faces, (b.) concerned about possible contamination - two wings cover their feet, and (c.) ready to be dispatched - two wings for flying.

3. The message called out by the angels brings an awareness of the holiness of the Trinity - "Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty; the whole earth is full of his glory." Holy is Father-God the Creator, Holy is the Redeemer Son, and Holy is the Sanctifying Holy Spirit.

4. In addition to what Isaiah hears, there's also an awareness of shaking, as well as the visual impression made by the smoke, which throughout Scripture is symbolic of the presence of God. 5. In response to this "over the top" feast to the senses, Isaiah acknowledges the contrast - whereas God is holy, the man is very unholy. He knows that the sin which is his personally and his by association with an unclean people - such sin cannot coexist with a holy God. However, cleansing is immediately provided as a heated rock from the altar is brought into contact with his lips to effect a cleansing - guilt is gone, and sin atoned for. This pericope carries with it the possible meaning that the final act of sanctification will not take place while we remain alive on earth, but in heaven where "we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (I John 3:2)

6. Then comes the big question posed by the Lord Himself, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" and Isaiah's well known immediate response, "Here am I. Send me!" You see, this vision wasn't just about giving Isaiah an exciting experience to tell to his grandchildren, it was about finding someone willing to speak for God.

This brings to mind the exchange between a lady tenant (bow in the hair), land-lord (bow-tie), and the man who came to the rescue (bow as mustache):

"You must pay the rent!" "I can't pray the rent." "You must pay the rent!" "I can't pray the rent." "I'll pay the rent!" "My hero!"

We might say that Isaiah's willingness to be sent makes him to be a hero - would to God that we would be as willing!

However, Jesus didn't stop at verse 8, nor did Paul. In fact the verses that follow in Isaiah 6 are quoted six times in the New Testament: in each of the Four Gospels [Matthew 13:14,15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40], as well as in Acts [28:26-27], and in Romans [11:7]. In fact, no other Old Testament passage is so often quoted in the New Testament as this one.

Why is the rest of the chapter, from verse 9 on, ignored or overlooked?

1. The message is surprising and even shocking.

At the first reading of these verses, it may sound like God is like an evil, sadistic, dictator who delights in punishing his people, and so causes them to be deaf and dull, blind and stupid, so they will not "get it" - He can then justify doing away with them.

In fact, those who have adopted an extreme Calvinism have seen in this passage a justification for their position. They would see here "double election" - some people are chosen for eternal life, some for eternal damnation.

However, this flies in the face of other Bible passages such as Romans 10:13, "For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." In fact even in the Old Testament this message is repeated by Moses, Jeremiah and Solomon:

"And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart." (Deuteronomy 4:29; Jeremiah 29:13)

"I love them that love me; and those that seek me early shall find me." (Proverbs 8:17)

We also have the wonderful image of the Good Shepherd seeking the lost lamb. In this case, it is the shepherd who takes the initiative to recover the wayward lamb, certainly not the picture of a God anxious to find cause to destroy it.

In my youth, after my first year of Bible School, I worked on the staff of the summer camp program for teenagers. The Evangelist, whose name is well known today, preached a powerful sermon using the visual aid of track hurdles lined up across the tabernacle platform. His message was clear and strong - God doesn't want you to perish, and has placed many hurdles, or road-blocks in your way to keep you from going to hell.

However, what may be truly surprising and shocking to some is that there are limits to God's grace, which leads to the next point:

2. The message is severe and very serious.

We may joke about good news and bad news, but this is no joking matter. The fact of the matter is, as it was said near the very beginning of God's dealing with mankind, "My Spirit will not contend with man forever." (Genesis 6:3)

When the message of the truth is repeatedly rejected, the result is what the Bible calls "hardness of heart," or in the words of Isaiah, a calloused heart, dull ears and closed eyes. There comes a moment when there is no further interest in spiritual things, no interest in God, no conviction of sin, no desire to pray or read the Bible, and if in this condition someone does try to pray, it will seem totally useless. This is what the Psalmist had in mind when he said, "If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me." (Psalm 66:18)

Does God make this happen? No, but he does allow the natural consequences to take their course.

If after a long winter of inactivity, when spring finally arrives you get out in the garden and work with shovel and hoe, your hands become blistered. But as you persist day after day, soon calluses will form, your hands will become hardened, and no longer will you feel the pain you felt that first and second day. So it is with God's dealing with us.

God was saying to Isaiah, "You have agreed to teach the people the truth, but they will reject it. You will keep on teaching, but they will keep on rejecting until that time comes when they will no longer be able to hear, see or understand. Then there will be nothing left but hopelessness, as the entire nation will sink into ruin."

In the New Testament, Paul makes this very clear in Romans 1:28-32:

"Since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

3. The message is simple but sobering.

The scenario is depressing. The hard-heartedness, deafness and blindness of the people will continue, resulting in eventual total devastation of the land. For when the prophet asked the question, "For how long, O Lord?" he probably meant, "For how long must I continue to preach to a people who do not want to listen?"

The other day I was thinking about my son coming home from Israel, and remembering the popular definition of home - "that place to where you can always return, and they have to take you in." Because, as Jesus taught us, we consider God to be our Father, we leap to the conclusion that therefore, He, being the very essence of unconditional love, will be like the father in Jesus' story of the prodigal son - regardless of where we have been and what we have done, He will welcome us home. But this isn't about the father's readiness to welcome the son, it's about the son's willingness to return to the father in humility and repentance. What if the son never "came to himself" and never admitted his deep down desire to return home? He would have died in the disgrace and dirt of a pagan pig pen.

Yes, God the Father is ever loving and forgiving, but we must not forget the stories Jesus told in Matthew 25.

One was about wise and foolish virgins. When those who were the foolish ones, those who had not adequately prepared for the feast, came to the closed door and cried, "Sir! Sir! Open the door for us", the master of the house called back, "I tell you the truth, I don't know you." (Matthew 25:11,12)

The second story was about the servant who had not invested his master's funds - the master said, ". . . throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 25:30)

And the third story, the one about two groups, one called sheep, the other goats, ended with the stern judgment on those who failed to act with compassion, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41)

This last story reminds us of the teaching Jesus included in His "Sermon on the Mount" which ended with these dooming words, "Not everyone who says to me, `Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, `Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?' Then I will tell them plainly, 'I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'" (Matthew 7:21-23)

At that moment it may appear that the Lord is the One doing the rejecting, when in fact, He is the One who had long before been rejected - "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him." (John 1:11) Those who will be rejected on judgment day will be those who will be merely receiving the fruit of what they themselves sowed many years prior. Harden your heart to Him now, and His heart will be hardened to you later - stop your ears from hearing His word and cover your eyes to avoid seeing the truth now, and later He will turn a deaf ear to your cries for mercy, and no longer look upon you with pity. If there is no relationship with Him now in this life, don't expect it to suddenly start up in the next.

But now, let's go back to Isaiah 6. At the very end of the chapter, after this rather doomsday-like message, we are left with a glimmer of hope. Isaiah is told that there will be a "holy seed" which will bear within itself the power to bring about restoration. When a tree is cut down, and only a stump remains, small shoots will begin to form at its base, and eventually will produce a new, mighty tree. As a nation, Israel went down the path of destruction due to their own unwillingness to turn to God. However, there's always been a remnant, godly individuals who have continued to carry the message.

This is clearly seen in John's Gospel, when reference is made to this passage from Isaiah 6. Though Jesus had performed many miracles, John tells us, "they still would not believe in him." But after the Isaiah quote, the writer adds, "Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him." (John 12:37-43) Let's be honest, today we live in a world not much unlike Isaiah's. We live among a people of unclean lips, a nation that proclaims to believe, and claims to be predominantly Christian, but our hearts are far from God. We have become hardened, no longer bothered by sin, no longer convicted to the point of humility and repentance; we have become deaf, no longer heeding God's Word, or even thinking that it has any value for us today; we have become blind to our own poverty of spirit and blind towards those around us who desperately need love and the Gospel.

The patience of a God who is "holy, holy, holy" is about to run out, and He will say to us as He did to the people of Isaiah's day:

"'Be ever hearing, but never understanding; be ever seeing, but never perceiving.' Make the heart of this people calloused; make their ears dull and close their eyes. Otherwise they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears, understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed."

"For how long, O Lord?"

"Until the cities lie ruined and without inhabitant, until the houses are left deserted and the fields ruined and ravaged, until the LORD has sent everyone far away and the land is utterly forsaken." (Isaiah 6:9-12)

I don't know about you, but as for me, I would much rather be in the company of the remnant, rather than of the rejected.

Just as we've all heard plenty of "good news, bad news" jokes, we've also heard the "light bulb" jokes. The one that applies here is: How many Prophets or Gospel Preachers does it take to change a light bulb? Just one; but the bulb has to really want to change.

Is your heart beginning to harden, are your ears beginning to be dull and your eyes blind? Turn back now, or run the risk of being lost forever.

1. With the exception of Psalm 23, which passage in the Old Testament has probably been preached on more than any other?

2. What significance is there in the fact that Isaiah received his glorious vision "In the year that King Uzziah died"?

3. What was unique, and even strange about the "seraphim" in Isaiah's vision?

4. Why is the designation "Holy" in triplicate form?

5. Which of Isaiah's five senses were "assaulted" during his experience in the presence of God?

6. What was the immediate spiritual impact this vision had on Isaiah?

7. What do you think was God's purpose in allowing Isaiah this glimpse into the heavenly palace?

8. What New Testament evidence is there that suggests that the last third of Isaiah 6 (verses 9-13) should be more prominent?

(As there is time, read these Scriptures: Matthew 13:14,15; Mark 4:12; Luke 8:10; John 12:40; Acts 28:26-27; Romans 11:7.)

9. How would someone who holds to "extreme Calvinism" use these verses as justification for the position of "double election"?

10. What are some Biblical statements which oppose the idea that God intentionally makes some people have hardened hearts so He can destroy them?

11. What is it that brings about "a calloused heart, dull ears and closed eyes"?

12. How does the "gardener analogy" help us understand what is a hard heart? Can you think of any other analogy?

13. What was the expected outcome of the hard-heartedness, deafness and blindness of the people of Isaiah's day?

14. Jesus related three stories in Matthew 25: foolish virgins, foolish steward, and goats. In each of these accounts, what was it that demonstrated their foolishness, and what was the outcome?

15. Judgment day is a "day of reckoning." If it is also a "day of rejection," who will have rejected whom?

16. What is meant when we say,"God always has a remnant"?